


Sans Talking

by Inkswirl95



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Grillby as the Mom friend, Little bit of angst, More active Sans and more mature and quieter Papyrus, Multi, Sign Language, Slice of Life, bit of torture, not detailed, stay safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-03-08 10:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18893050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkswirl95/pseuds/Inkswirl95
Summary: The town of Snowdin was always quiet and peaceful, none of the folks wanting to cause more trouble for their people since they were stuck underground already. Even so, the King had wanted to bring in a couple more sentries to the little region, and so in moved two skeletons.Grillby enjoyed having the Dog Squad at his bar, not only were they friendly, he was able to chat and tell Doggo about what was happening around Snowdin, also getting tips he could tell his patrons in case there were any rock slides and such to make sure they were safe. It wasn't every day that new monsters moved in, so he gave them both a warm welcome and a place to rest as with everyone else. Though he is concerned and confused about Sans. They were both nice people, sure, but Papyrus did most of the talking, while Sans just stuck to pranks.Soon though, the barman will figure out the brothers' stories, and promises to help them the best he can.





	1. New Guard

**Author's Note:**

> I actually forgot about this fic from my Tumblr and thought that people needed more Sansby fluff. This will focus entirely on the time before Frisk comes to the Underground. I don't have as much of a solid plan for this story as the other ones, but I hope you enjoy anyway.
> 
> Undertale belongs to Toby Fox.

It was quiet in Snowdin as always, everyone doing what chores needed to be done, chatting quietly amongst themselves. The Dog Squad were cycling through their shift, switching off with each other, and two skeletons were walking back to town switching with Greater Dog, who gave them a deep bark as they passed by. "Wowie Sans, we were finally switched to Snowdin's sentry shifts! This is the best place to capture a human, after all the other six had to come through here!" the taller of the two said excitingly, practically bouncing with each step he took, though keeping in line with the shorter of the two as they walked home for the rest of the day, "We will capture a human first, I know we will! Just you wait, they'll soon be calling us the Great Papyrus and Sans!" he said, his red scarf fluttering in the little wind there was in the area. He turned to look at his brother and frowned, "Really, do you have to make a pun out of everything I say?" he deadpanned as his brother was snickering silently before his stomach made itself known with a growl.

"Hmm, it is lunch time. Maybe we should check out Grillby's, that's where all the other guards said to go, sounds like a good way to introduce ourselves to the people." the taller said, seeing the sign of the bar coming into view, even from a distance it had an inviting look to it. Sans nodded, walking alongside him, soon getting to the door and opening it, immediately getting hit with the smell of fresh burgers and fries, as well as the smell of smoked pinewood.

Inside, it wasn't very busy. Lesser Dog was playing poker by itself, an already drunk bunny head was in a booth by the door, a red bird sat at the counter, and a horse was by the jute box, looking chill as can be.

The two soon sat down at the counter, gesturing to each other. From the kitchen came a fire elemental, his flames bright orange and healthy, crackling softly. His clothes were wrinkle free, and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up neatly, a bow tie sat on his neck comfortably. His glasses hid what his eyes looked like.

"So these are the new sentries." he thought to himself, spotting the skeletons. Red bird seemed fascinated by what they were doing, so he didn't bother her, instead taking up two menus and heading over in front of them. "Hello, you must be new. Welcome to my bar. Would you like a menu?" he said kindly, setting the menus down in front of them. He took note of how the shorter one seemed to look away, putting his hands in his pockets.

Papyrus, however, smiled, "Oh, thank you. I am Papyrus, and this is my older brother, Sans. Don't mind him, he's just a bit shy around new people. We're from Hotland, so it's going to take a while for him to get used to this place. I hope you don't mind." he told the fire elemental, taking the menu and shoving the other one in front of Sans' face. Grillby nodded at Papyrus.

"Not at all. I'm not one for talking a lot myself. Make yourselves comfortable, I'll check with you shortly." With that, Grillby went around, checking on his other patrons and cleaning up what little messes there were around the bar, mostly dog fur.

For the next few weeks, they had become regulars at his bar, Sans slowly relaxing and coming out of his shell, at least enough to start little pranks with Papyrus, which made the younger brother scold him more often than not. Papyrus was a vibrant one, his natural orange magic radiating off him like Grillby's own flames. But Sans was harder to figure out, reclusive. He seemed to only communicate with Papyrus, which didn't really bother Grillby. What bothered him was that Sans seemed so fragile, yet so quick to take things into his own hands, checking out any rumors he heard by himself, most of the time just disappearing from Papyrus' side in the blink of an eye.

But at the end of the day, Sans was always safe, secure by his brother's side, and they bantered back and forth as if nothing ever happened. They certainly brought a new kind of life to the town, and everyone was happy to talk with Papyrus, Sans mostly sticking to whoopee cushions and hand zappers much to his brother's dislike.

One day, Grillby noticed that the Dogs seemed uneasy, soon realizing that the brothers had not made their daily commute to his bar either. Dogamy and Doggaressa especially were close to them, so he asked them what happened to the skeletons.

"Oh, right, you didn't hear."

"Sans got sick, so he's resting at home with Papyrus."

"We know we shouldn't be worried. He has his own kind of strength."

"But at the same time, his HP is so low already."

They spoke in turn, always knowing what the other was going to say and what to say next. Grillby nodded. "I see... They live in that old house by the edge of town, right? I think I'll take them some of my soup and check in after then."

"Really?"

"That would mean a lot, to both of them."

"Be sure to tell them hi for us."

"And if it's not too much trouble, please text us and tell us how they're doing."

Grillby nodded once again, touched by how much the two cared for the skeletons, treating them as if they were their own children. He knew they were good monsters, having taken his niece, Fuku, to them whenever his sister got sick so they could take care of her, before they all moved to Hotland, leaving Grillby to keep a warm place open for the residents of Snowdin.

Later on in the evening, he closed up the bar. And even though his home was on the second floor, he was preparing the soup infused with magic for the brothers, soon heading out in his thick jacket and hat to keep from being hit by the snow, keeping the pot warm as he walked. He didn't know what it was, but he was very close to the skeletons as well. He would do anything to ensure that they were safe. But he chalked that up to them all being in the same situation. Stuck Underground with no way to break through the Barrier.

Soon he got to their house, smiling as he saw they made it their own. He walked up to the door, knocking and waiting.

No one answered.

Anxiously he knocked again, a bit louder when the door creaked open. The lights were on, but no one was inside. It wasn't too late in the evening, and he knew Papyrus was usually working on some new puzzle plans around this time. He forced himself to take a deep breath, chasing away the worst case scenarios as he stepped inside, looking around.

Next to the door to the left was a lumpy old green couch. He could see the water stains it kept from being in the Dumps of Waterfall. To the right stood a kitchen table, with a rock on a paper plate, covered in sprinkles. A crooked tv faced the door, and a sock laid next to it with sticky notes around it. He could see someone had modified the sink to be much taller than needed.

"Sans, Papyrus, are you here? Where are you?" he called into the quiet home, closing the door so it wouldn't let in any more cold air. His eyes traveled up the staircase, seeing two doors for what was presumably their rooms, one decorated in all sorts of traffic signs saying to stop or yield. The other was plain. In between the two doors sat a large painting of a bone, the rest of it green with nothing else of interest.

The door to the right opened slightly, and even from downstairs Grillby could see Sans' flushed face poking through, looking dizzy and flushed. Quickly, he took off his coat and hanging it on the coat hanger, setting the soup down on the table next to the rock, going up the stairs, "Sans, you look exhausted. What happened? Where's Papyrus? You should get back to bed." he said, getting to the skeleton, who was in nothing but a white tank top, shorts, and slippers, ushering him inside and onto the bed, ignoring the room at the moment.

Once Sans was laying down again, he smiled at Grillby, gesturing with his hands. No, Grillby realized...

He was using sign language.

"hey Grillby, i didn't know it was you at the door."


	2. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little look into the pasts of the bone brothers and Grillby, plus a look into where Papyrus ended up after having to leave Sans alone.

Grillby stood, stunned as he looked at the sick skeleton in front of him. For weeks the two had been coming to his bar, and yet somehow he didn't catch that Sans was using sign language to communicate with Papyrus. That explained why he never ordered for himself, or even talk to anyone else. Probably another reason why the couple was so protective of the two, what with Sans not being able to talk, yet Papyrus was the younger of the two. Sans had managed to snap him out of his berating for not noticing, by snapping his fingers together, looking concerned. Once Grillby has focused again, Sans signed again.

"hey, you okay? don't worry about it, Papyrus talks loud enough for both of us. besides, this only happened a year ago, so i'm still a little self-conscious about it." even with Sans explaining, his hands were fluid in their motions, if not for the trembling from being sick. Grillby nodded a bit before pausing.

"That's right, I brought some soup over for you. Let me get you a bowl for it. Stay here." he said, standing up once Sans nodded, soon walking out of the room, down the stairs to retrieve the pot of soup. As he got to it and went to the kitchen for a bowl and spoon, he thought about his past interactions with them. When he first met them, it was almost like meeting an old friend again. The way Papyrus was so upbeat, and Sans was reserved but had a comforting aura about him. Papyrus was passionate about being a sentry, talking about his plans of being able to capture a human and gaining fame from it. He remembers every so often, he would glance over at Sans and groan quietly, "Sans, I am not..." before shaking his head, Sans having a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, his eye lights shone with mischief. Even so, there were other times where Sans would most likely praise Papyrus, feeding his enthusiasm and excitement while also reminding him to take it slow. "I KNOW SANS, BUT I CAN'T BE A LAZYBONES LIKE YOU ALL THE TIME."

He smiled a bit. Of course, they bickered and bantered at each other as all siblings would, but they still cared for each other, even more so than others from what he has seen. Most likely from what happened. Grillby promised himself he wouldn't ask what happened unless Sans started on the topic first, he knows all too well about touchy subjects, unconsciously feeling a wound on his arm under his shirt where it was all dried and ashy, instead of having flames flickering around it as they should.

Soon he found himself back at Sans' door, the soup already in a bowl and warmed gently with his flames. He peeked in since he knew Sans couldn't really give a response to if he knocked, seeing the skeleton sitting up slightly, looking comfortable with a nest of blankets and pillows bundled up behind his back to prop him up. Sans gave a lazy wave to Grillby, smiling tiredly, phone in the other hand. "Here's the soup, it's infused with healing magic so hopefully it helps build your immune system a little," he said, walking over and handing him the soup, sitting down on a nearby chair, taking in the room as Sans ate quietly.

It wasn't too big, or too small. Just right for the skeleton it seemed, and no pun intended, it seemed to be bare bones, with just the bed, dresser, and the chair he was sitting on, as well as an old random treadmill in the middle for some reason. He figured it'd be best not to ask about it. The strangest thing was the self-sustaining trash tornado that was swirling in the corner of the room, with random clothes, a cup, and a blanket in it, spinning around. He raised an eyebrow but decided to wait until Sans finished eating to ask. He instead turned to look at the dresser, seeing a picture frame of Sans and Papyrus, standing in front of the New Home college, Sans holding a degree while Papyrus seemed to be frantically waving a flag in excitement, making his arm blur in the picture.

Grillby smiled, taking it from the shelf to take a closer look, careful that his flames did not catch onto the wood and burn it. Taking a glance at Sans, the older brother looked away, a bit embarrassed, trying to hide his blue-hued cheeks by eating some more soup, occupying his hands so he wouldn't have to answer, until the phone buzzed in his lap, making him jump a bit. "Who is it?" Grillby asked, seeing the frown on the skeleton's face as he read the message, then his shoulders relaxed, showing the screen to Grillby.

I told you you didn't need to worry so much. He's eating his food like a champ now. But for now, I'm keeping him here, in case some other jerk tries to attack him again. Do you have someone else with you? -Captain Snagglefish

Grillby was just about to comment on the name until he realized that the text must have been talking about Papyrus. "Wait, what happened to Papyrus anyway? Where is he? I thought he was taking care of you." he said, looking at Sans in concern.

Sans nodded, setting the phone and bowl to the side, "he went to grab some medicine but texted me that the shop here ran out. so he was having to go to Hotland to pick some up. but on the way back, he was jumped by some idiots. it took him by surprise, and he was overwhelmed. thankfully RG1 and RG2 were walking by when it happened, so they managed to arrest them." he signed, his hands even more steady than before. "uh, if you don't mind, would you stay the night? i know otherwise Pap will have all the dog squad here, and i don't want my headache to come back. they're good dogs, just not all that quiet." he then asked, a bit hesitant. Grillby nodded though.

"Of course, I'm just going to send a quick text to Doggaressa and tell them you're alright and I'll be staying with you," he said, his fire crackling softly as he took out his own phone, a deep amber, and sent the text as Sans texted who he presumed to be Undyne.

Sans relaxed, feeling calm with the fire monster nearby and now knowing his brother was alright. Soon enough he knew Papyrus would be calling to tell him all about what happened, having to rely on the dinging app that he made for them so that Papyrus knew he was still listening. Knowing how much Grillby cared though, the fire monster would take the phone and explain to Papyrus he was asleep, since he felt drained, both from the sickness and worrying about his brother. He had tried, and failed, to teleport over to him, having ended up face down in the kitchen sink, though thankfully he had his net of magic to take the impact of the fall, though it left him sore having to climb back down.

He knew Papyrus could handle himself, but he couldn't help but worry when he couldn't be there for him, having been feeling especially weak since the incident at the lab a year ago. He smiled bitterly, inwardly at himself. The fact that most of their childhood was stripped away from Papyrus, and feeling like crap for not being able to do anything about it, as well as losing his voice when Papyrus probably needed to hear him most. But even so, he pushed on, to give everything Papyrus could want, while also teaching him the life lessons he would need, should Sans ever... He shook his head, he couldn't think such dark thoughts, especially with Grillby right next to him. 

He was proud of the man Papyrus had become, becoming much more mature than how he was growing up to be. Always diligent, yet friendly when it came to strangers. Cautious while somehow still being charming, learning more about their situation in the Underground as well so no one would baby him anymore (other than when Sans wanted to tease him). Papyrus worked hard to get them both jobs as royal sentries, considering how Sans' last job literally blew up in his face, disabling his magic in one eye, and thus disqualifying him from the position of Royal Scientist, even though he knew he never even had it in the first place, but no one else remembered. So he went along with the flow, not causing any scenes in public. But that didn't mean he could hold it in when it was just him and Papyrus.

There were so many things he wanted to say to Papyrus. He promised himself he would say them once his voice returned. Some nights, he would be a crying mess, half squeaking and half wheezing, trying to apologize. For everything he put Papyrus through. For being so weak when Papyrus needed him most. And yet, Papyrus was always there, holding his shaking body close, reassuring him that he would be there as his brother for as long as he needed. And would always gently remind him that if he tried too hard, his voice may never return, lulling the mass of rattling bones to sleep, more likely not even getting much sleep himself.

And so Sans had started taking jobs and work more seriously, cutting down on his habit of downing a bottle of ketchup, even exercising more and listening into conversations while making himself as invisible as possible, so he could do his real job.

He blinked when Grillby's hand waved in front of his eyes, looking up at the fire elemental, blushing a bit for spacing out, "sorry, just got caught up thinking about stuff. you need anything? and thanks again for staying with me." his hands motioned, clearly in view, hoping that Grillby hadn't noticed the chips in his small hands.

If he had, he didn't comment, "It's fine, I was just wondering if you needed some medicine, I think I have some cold medicine at my place. Considering Papyrus is stuck in Hotland." Grillby said, pointing his thumb in the direction of his bar. Thinking about it a bit, Sans took the time to consider his condition. His head was pounding a bit, though not as much as before, and his magic was congested in his chest and nasal area, making his neck bones itchy, and the rest of his body ache slightly with the limited magic coursing through his bones. 

He then nodded, signing, "i'll pay you back soon. thank you."

Grillby nodded, "I'll refill your bowl and I'll be back soon, stay under the blankets." he told the skeleton, getting the pot of soup and refilling the bowl before heading out.

Sans nodded to himself, thinking. "yeah... even if he doesn't remember us, things will be fine. i just hope i can straighten everything out soon. hope you're doing better than i am, old man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the little bit of angst, but just, with what happened to Sans and how it would affect Papyrus, it would more than likely make him feel like shit. But because he can't get the words out, he just lets his actions speak for him. And don't worry about Papyrus, he's a strong boyo, and Undyne is with him. :D Everything will turn out okay... Right?


	3. Papyrus' View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sure, we have seen how Grillby has met the boys, what goes on through Sans' mind, but now we're going to see what Papyrus is up to.

Outside was sweltering, as it always has been what with having the free moving magma that surrounded the Core and Hotland. Temperatures didn't really affect bones, but a skeleton's magic is another thing. The heat made Papyrus uncomfortable, his magic in his bones itching when he was outside, walking as fast as he could to the Riverperson so he could get back to Snowdin quickly. It has been a year since whatever happened at the lab.

In that short span of time, Papyrus had managed to get their funds together after getting them both positions as sentries, and Sans had dealt with the business side of things using his phone to text out his terms with the people he spoke to. He was glad they managed to secure a house in Snowdin, though how was fuzzy to Papyrus. After the incident, even though he wasn't involved with it, he felt like he was drifting through in a dream-like state. Something was missing. Something was...

Wrong.

He knew it was wrong, there was something else about their family. But he wouldn't stress out Sans more than he was. Every other month Sans would break down, tears running down his face. It broke Papyrus' SOUL, watching his older brother just break down in the middle of the night, seeing him just trying to say something, anything really. But he knew from Dr. Alphys that Sans shouldn't be trying to talk, and so he would pick up Sans, and just spent the night comforting the smaller of the two, making sure he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night. He noticed that along with that, Sans' health had been hit by whatever happened as well.

Sometimes he would develop a slight cough, or collapse during his shifts. Papyrus would always make sure he was safe, getting him back to their house after letting Undyne know. He wished he could do so much more for his brother, and so he took to learning about the Underground as a whole, learning both from Sans, and the King whenever he decided to drop by for a visit. He would go into town and make firm friendships with the residents. He learned to control his font so that he was not always shouting to others.

Growing up, he knew Sans had been hiding stuff from him, but he knew Sans would have his reasons. Reasons he had too. For when he first learned of what happened to the humans that were captured, it made his non-existent stomach churn at the thought of what went through those humans' minds. Even if he didn't agree with the war against them, he came to accept it. He knew humans were dangerous, some of the guards still having scars from one of the earlier humans told him as much. Papyrus had sworn to do his duty, both for his own sake, and Sans'.

Getting around the bend almost to Dr. Alphys' lab, he was suddenly knocked out of his thoughts and off his feet from a magic bullet, almost dropping the bag of medicine into the magma below, turning to see who it was.

In front of him were several monsters, the one in front being a sort of grey scaled salamander, one eye having a wound over it. He smirked, walking forward, "Well, what do we have here? Haven't seen you in about a month, bone boy."

"Brazen! Weren't you locked up three months ago? Nevermind, I will subdue you once more. And your friends." Papyrus said, standing up quickly, pulling forth bone attacks glowing orange, but he was hit once more by another bullet, from somewhere towards his back. It made him fall forward onto his knees, clutching the bag of medicine before quickly dropping it into his inventory for safe keeping. With a quick look, he saw that he was surrounded by different monsters, unknown to him. Quickly, he rolled forward, avoiding another attack, soon hurtling bones into three of the monsters stomachs, ducking out of the way of a fourth and sweeping his leg and sending the monster crashing down with a yell.

Before long though, he was overwhelmed purely by the number of monsters opposing him. Of course, Brazen had a way of turning people to his side. Luring them with false hope and promises of fortune. It was all Papyrus could do to take cover for himself, his scarf being badly damaged. That's when he heard yelps and a yell from RG1, a roar and blast of attacks coming from RG2. Papyrus' head hurt, clutching it from being beamed in the skull before. He could also feel small cracks in his femurs as well, though nothing too serious.

Once Brazen and his men were taken away, RG2 managed to bring Papyrus to Dr. Alphys, as she was the closest doctor around. If nothing else, Papyrus could rest with some peace and quiet as Alphys flitted about, calling Undyne and making sure he didn't need anything.

Now here he was, laying in a bed, leg bouncing lightly in anxiousness. He hated leaving Sans alone, especially with how sick he was. But Undyne had ordered he spend the night at least, and Undyne would come with him back to Snowdin in the morning.

"O-okay, Papyrus, I, uh... I fixed your p-phone, I-I hope it works better n-now." The timid lizard said, coming to his bed and handing him back his phone which seemed to be in almost brand new condition. Papyrus smiled gratefully at her, taking it gently out of her claws.

"Thank you Dr. Alphys, and again I'm sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all! I-I'm glad to have been able to do t-this much for you." Alphys stuttered out, looking away and cleaning off the smudges from her glasses on her lab coat. "I-if you need anything, I-I'll be downstairs. D-don't stay up too l-long." she reminded him, soon heading back down as Papyrus agreed to go to bed soon.

Before he did though, he texted Sans.

Sans! I'm sorry for taking so long, Dr. Alphys just now fixed my phone. Are you okay? Do you have anyone with you? Are you hurting? [Sent: 11:39 pm]

hey bro, relax. i'm doing fine, actually. Grillby actually came over and he's looking after me. just went to get some cold medicine from his place. are you okay though? who was it anyway? [Sent: 11:40 pm]

Oh, Grillby's with you? That's nice. And I won't lie, I'm a bit sore, was thrown against some rocks, but I'll be fine in the morning! It was Brezen, the salamander we locked up a few months ago in New Home? He already had nine other monsters with him. Hopefully, they put a muzzle on him soon, or something. Too much jabbering. [Sent: 11:43 pm]

ha, yeah, or just keep him in the salammer, am i right? [Sent 11:44 pm]

You must be really tired if your puns are that off. I just wanted to check on you. Go to sleep. -_- [Sent: 11:45 pm]

aw, but if i sleep anymore i'll be in deep rest ;) [Sent: 11:46 pm]

OMG Sans! Goodnight! [Sent: 11:47 pm]

alright, alright, g'night bro, i'll see you tomorrow. i love you. [Sent: 11:48 pm]

I love you too Sans. Good night. [Sent: 11:48 pm]

With a sigh, Papyrus laid his head back gently on the pillow. He didn't know what it was, but he felt safe around Grillby, trusted him. Even with Sans. It felt nice to have someone like him to rely on. He knew somehow, that Grillby would be able to help Sans if only a little. That was better than nothing, which is how he felt he's been doing.

Of course, without talking, the brothers went on about their lives, bantering and bickering as if nothing happened. Of course, that wasn't true, but whenever they tried to breach the topic of the Lab, Sans would just start shaking. Rattling bones a telltale sign that it still unnerved him even now. But it didn't matter, Papyrus would wait as long as he needed to for Sans to tell him. Even though he was terrified when he was called about the Lab, pushing Sans to sign out what happened would just make Papyrus into a big jerk. So instead, he and Sans were trying to find things they liked to do together. It was a bit harder since Sans was unable to speak, but they managed to find some games in the Waterfall Dump, and Papyrus had bought a brand new set of chess for him and Sans to play together. It took a bit for him to figure it out, but once he did, they both enjoyed playing for a few hours, trying to come up with either the easiest solution or the most convoluted.

"Tomorrow we'll have the day off. And Grillby's bar is closed too... Maybe we can convince him to stay a while. I'm sure Sans would enjoy that..." his voice dropping off as he soon drifted off into sleep on the old hospital bed. His night was mostly peaceful, except the room felt ice cold compared to everywhere else around them.


	4. Together again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby enjoys a day with the brothers, though something seems off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this is short, but I didn't want to get much farther, or else I might have skipped over some parts for Sans and Papyrus. Hope you enjoy =)

After Grillby had come back with the medicine, giving Sans the right amount and making sure he was asleep comfortably, he went down and made himself comfortable on the couch, as much as he could.

He was glad that Sans trusted him enough to let him take care of the skeleton. He let the cozy atmosphere lull him into a light sleep, making sure his flames wouldn't catch anything on fire during the night.

His dream was strange. He felt like he was wading through tar, though his flames were unharmed. He saw flashes of a building, a silhouette, darkness before it turned to a quiet day at the bar.

He felt unnerved at how quiet it was, and he noticed the jukebox was missing. Suddenly, a human kicked open the door, walking in with a gun and looking frantic. Grillby heard shouts from outside, his flames coming up to try and capture the human, but instead, the human's bullet ripped through his arm, water pouring down from the shelf above when he was knocked back.

Before he could register the pain, his phone blared, waking him as he scrambled to get it to stop, falling off the couch in the process. He groaned quietly, shutting off the alarm before remembering where he was at the moment, looking up the stairs towards Sans’ room, listening for any sign that the skeleton was awake.

After a few moments of silence, Grillby sighed softly, relieved, getting up and stretching. He grabbed his glasses from the nearby end table, going over to the kitchen to start on some breakfast for Sans and himself, checking his phone and texting Undyne to see how Papyrus was.

Even after the rude awakening, he always found himself relaxed when he cooked. No need to deal with liquids with cooking, or any flame dousing liquids anyhow. He always felt at home, with the smell of meat and spices cooking over his open flame, the sound of sizzling, and the rush of heat from the oven blasting over him. He even started to hum a low song, controlling his flames expertly, adding some more healing magic into the food for Sans.

Just as he turned around to get the table set, he saw Sans just behind him, leaning on the entryway in his shorts and a shirt that said “Bone Daddy” on it, his sudden presence making Grillby give out an indecent yelp too high and shrill to ever have come from a man such as himself, his flames rising as well. This scene sent Sans into a wheezing fit, doubling over on himself, laughing silently before it turned into coughing, making Sans sit down as Grillby collected himself, turning away as his face turned a shade of blue from all the heat rushing to it in embarrassment.

“G-good morning Sans, I didn’t even hear you getting up,” Grillby instead told Sans, forcing his flames and magic to relax as he looked at the other from the corner of his eyes to read the other’s signs.

“good morning to you too Grillbs, i didn’t mean to rattle you too much,” just as calm and smooth as last night, his hands flowed through the words, though his shoulders were still shaking slightly in mirth, making Grillby groan not only in embarrassment but also at the pun the skeleton made at his discretion and humiliation. “thanks again for staying last night, did you sleep well?” he decided to turn the conversation around to keep from making Grillby angry.

Grillby nodded, keeping his back turned to Sans carefully as he said, “I slept well, though it did feel like I just laid down when my phone alarm started going off. It didn’t wake you up, did it?” he asked, turning back to Sans, setting down his plate while also carefully pouring him a glass of milk to go with the eggs and sausage he made.

He saw Sans studying him with a frown, before sighing silently and shaking his head, “no, don’t worry about it. and thanks for the food.” he signed before picking up his fork and starting to eat. Grillby nodded, sitting with his own plate, checking his phone as he ate.

“Undyne says Papyrus should be home soon. Good thing I made some for him too,” He noted, letting his fork crisp his own food a bit more before eating it, enjoying the slightly burnt flavor more than other monsters would care for. Sans nodded, bringing up his own phone to show he got a similar text from Papyrus.

They sat, eating in comfortable silence when there was the sound of the door unlocking, soon opening to reveal the taller of the skeleton brothers and Undyne in her armor, though without the helmet. Papyrus smiled, coming right in as Undyne followed, “Good morning Grillby, and Sans, how are you doing?” the two gave each other a quick hug and squeeze before Sans pulled away to use his hands to sign to Papyrus.

As they talked to each other, Grillby turned to Undyne, quietly saying, “You didn’t tell me Sans couldn’t talk. I felt like a fool after I learned last night.” even though it sounded accusing, his flames had a playful manner to them, licking away at the air between them to warm her up slightly.

Undyne winced innocently, “Yeah, that was on my part, but to be honest I was more worried about getting them settled in quickly at the time. Sorry. How have you been Grillby?” she asked instead, knowing he would forgive her.

“I’ve been fine, just keeping up with the days as they come as always. Though these two have certainly livened things up a bit, in a good way though,” he said, smiling a bit as he saw Papyrus take the other plate of breakfast and started to eat. Undyne nodded, folding her arms.

“Yeah, I know exactly how that is. Anyway, I have to get back to New Home to talk about the incident. You all be safe now,” she said, putting on her helmet and walking out after waving to Sans and Papyrus, who waved back.

Grillby soon went and cleaned his plate and fork with cleaning flames, glancing at the sink wondering why they had it so high in the first place. "Grillby, I wanted to thank you, both for breakfast and watching over Sans," Papyrus piped up behind him.

He faced the two and nodded, "It was no trouble, I'm glad both of you boys are okay,"

"yeah, i'm feeling better too, at least i'm not stuck in bed like yesterday," Sans signed, finished with his food already, putting his dishes in the dishwasher with magic while laying his head on the table lazily.

“You still look like you should be in bed though. But nevermind that, Grillby, we were just going to have an easy day off today, would you like to join us? We have board games, puzzles, some movies, or whatever else you’d like to do. Just a chance for us all to relax and get to know each other better.” Papyrus suggested, smiling while ruffling Sans’ head, making his fuzz stick up slightly, though his brother didn’t even move to smooth it down.

Grillby couldn’t help but laugh at them, nodding, “Alright, sounds fine with me. Everything is stocked up, so I don’t have to go shopping either.”

Once the kitchen was all cleaned, a pet rock on the table covered in sprinkles, the three did whatever came to mind. Grillby enjoyed it all, though he felt like there was someone, or something, watching them all, taking a glance at the windows every now and then.

He felt like he was just being paranoid, but towards the end of the day, walking home after saying goodbye to the brothers, he thought he heard a cold, cruel laughter coming from nearby.


	5. Deja vu Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is finally healthy once more! But if he is, then what the hell is going on with the day starting over and over again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, you know what? I think you guys waited long enough, here's the new chapter now. Enjoy!

Soon enough, Sans had gotten past his flu, and they went about their usual routines. It was comforting, even though Sans would much rather work in a lab, he knew Papyrus was safe this way. He enjoyed being with his louder bro, made him feel safe. Papyrus enjoyed it too, even though he “disapproved” of Sans’ puns, which just encouraged Sans to do more.

The brothers had their own schedules. Papyrus would wake up early enough to start on breakfast, while Sans would work on some algorithms to send to Alphys for project ideas, then they would both eat and then head out to see where their stations were at for the day. It wasn’t very exciting, but after what happened in the lab, Sans was grateful for it.

As they were walking along the path they were patrolling, Papyrus brainstorming about some puzzles and traps, Sans saw something behind a tree, making him stop. He grabbed Papyrus’ scarf before he could leave Sans behind, “hey, bro, have you seen anything weird?” he asked, his hands quicker than usual, knowing Papyrus could keep up with him.

Papyrus blinked, looking out to where Sans was looking, “No, not that I can see… Are you still sick?” he asked, taking off his glove and putting it to Sans’ skull to check his magic, but Sans shook his head.

“something’s off about today, let’s be extra careful,” he signed, keeping it to where only Papyrus could see as his younger brother nodded, putting his glove back on and going forward with Sans.

There was something about Sans’ usual post that made both the boys uncomfortable, strange magic surrounding it. They decided to go farther in, just to make sure no one was fooling around.

Neither of them had any reason to go farther along the path before, but they soon came across a huge door that had the seal of the Royal Family, It was strange, neither of them has seen it before. Papyrus went up to try and open them, but they wouldn’t budge, stuck with a spell.

“Maybe we can ask Undyne about it later,” Papyrus remarked, seeing no way inside. Sans nodded, looking around the entrance.

Just as they were about to turn around again, a vine struck out at Papyrus, but he dodged quick enough. Sans jerked a bit, easily bringing out a blaster, ready to fire at whoever was attacking. They both heard laughing, “You really are idiots, if you think you can defeat me!” magic bullets flew at them, making the boys jump away from each other to dodge them.

They both brought out bone attacks, wielding them like swords, looking around, their eye lights glowing brightly. A vine went and smacked Papyrus down, making him yell out. Sans turned, finding a strange yellow flower, which somehow had a face, smiling dementedly at him. “DIE.” It said, before more bullets came rushing down at them. All of a sudden, a flame came flying by them both, hitting the flower head on, making it fly off, grunting, and Sans looked back, eyes widening, seeing none other than Queen Toriel herself standing before the opened doors, paws still blazing slightly with fire magic. She looked over to him, “Are you oka-”

“Sans, wake up, it’s time for breakfast!”

Sans sat up with a jolt, his eye flashing cyan, looking around his room in a panic. Just what happened, exactly? Then he remembered, seeing Papyrus laying on the ground. He quickly got out of bed, not even bothering to change out of his pajama shorts and tank tops, racing and opening the door, to see Papyrus there with a panicked expression as well.

“Sans, what was that just now? Why do I feel like we’ve done this before?” Papyrus asked, just as alarmed as Sans felt.

Sans shook his head, “i’m not sure right now, but come on, we need to get to my station, now,” he signed, going with Papyrus when he nodded as he pulled out his phone, calling Undyne.

The boys were practically racing down the path, making several residents of the sleepy town of Snowdin watch after them, confused as to why they were rushing.

“Undyne, it’s Papyrus, something weird just happened. Sans and I are on our way now to his station in Snowdin, please be careful,” With the way Papyrus hadn’t even bothered with a greeting, getting straight to the point, Undyne knew he was serious.

“Right, I’ll send Doggo with you, meet up with him before you get there,” Undyne told him, soon hanging up.

The boys soon got to Doggo’s station, who was just getting off the phone, dog treat in his mouth as he looked to them, “Whatever this is, don’t do anything stupid, got it?” he told them, soon falling into step with them.

Quickly, they got to Sans’ station, looking around carefully, ready to attack at any time. There was no one there, making Sans frown, “maybe we got here too early…?” he asked himself. He had no clue what to make of it all. He paused, soon rushing forward onto the path again, his brother and Doggo shouting at him to slow down.

But he soon got to the doors again, placing his hands on them, looking for a way to open it. “Sans, how did you know this was here?” Papyrus asked, looking at him strangely.

Sans could see that Papyrus’ memory of what just happened was fading, and fast. He froze in place, realizing he didn’t even remember what attacked them in the first place. Without signing anything, Sans turned and pounded on the door, motioning for Papyrus to help call out.

Before they could do anything more though, a vine swept them all off to the side, Doggo growling in anger, seeing the vine and chasing it to its source, yelping when he gets knocked back into a tree, groaning.

The door was covered in plants. There was no way they could move it now. Sans frowned, getting up and bringing out a blaster, sending an attack out to where his Judgement could see someone’s stats. There was a howl.

Sans jerked back up in bed, cold sweat running down his skull. What was going on? This time, the memory faded faster as Papyrus came in this time. “Sans you lazybones, get up! It’s time for breakfast!” he said, seemingly having forgotten…

… What was he trying to remember?

Sans’ head hurt like hell, and he clutched at it, pained noises coming from his throat. “Pap, you need to tell the Dogs to get away from my station, now!” he signed to Papyrus, knowing there was something wrong there.

Papyrus hesitated, but nodded, seeing the seriousness in his brother’s face. He soon got his phone out, getting a group call with the dogs as Sans tried to ease his headache.

It was getting so bad his skull felt like it would break in two. He didn’t even realize when the Dog Squad had come in, his vision was blurred.

“What the hell is going on?” Undyne’s voice rang out, standing in Sans’ room, arms folded while glaring at them, expecting an answer.

What answer could they give if they forgot about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee, wonder how Sans can remember it? Maybe it had something to do with the accident? =)


	6. Deformed Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get into a bit about what the brothers remembered in the last chapter, as well as something that ties them to Alphys! And maybe someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being so patient, I'm glad to be putting this out now, and I do have plans of how to finish it, so maybe at chapter ten or so, we'll see how it goes! Sans Talking was never planned to be too long anyway, but I might make some drabbles about this timeline later on whenever I feel the need xD Anyway, hope you enjoy! Have a good one!

Papyrus was wringing his hands together as Dr. Alphys had taken Sans into the local hospital. Since they had worked with each other she knew his magic and SOUL better than the local doctor. “Papyrus, hey, it’s going to be okay,” Undyne assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her. “Sure, he can be really lazy, and his health isn’t the best, but you need to relax. We don’t need you both going out of commission again,” she told him firmly. Papyrus took in a deep breath to steady his magic, slowly letting it out.

He nodded to her, “You’re right Undyne, I just… I think I have the same problem? But not as extensively as his?” He said, uncertain. Flashes of green and yellow come to his mind as he tried to think of what Sans was signing. Not to mention the wave of dejavu that hit him as he called to Sans, feeling he had done it before. His skull throbbed as he tried to remember it, holding it with a hand and sitting down, being guided by Undyne.

She nodded a bit, watching him carefully, “Well, you should get a check-up too after Sans is done, I know Al won’t mind,” she said, folding her arms and looking at him worried. The two boneheads were always close with her, though some of her own memories failed her. With or without the memories, they were family, and it was her duty to protect them.

The door opened, and Grillby was standing there, looking around and spotted them, “Papyrus, Undyne, what happened? All I saw was the Dogs heading for your place, then all of you bringing Sans here,” he explained, walking over and away from the cold of the door. “Are you okay Papyrus?” he asked, looking at the younger skeleton who nodded.

“I’m fine, but Sans was suddenly hit with a really bad headache, his magic lashed out a bit. Dr. Alphys is looking him over now,” Papyrus answered, helping the fire elemental relax. “Neither of us are sure why though…” he said softly, looking down at his feet. Grillby sat next to him, patting his back.

After a few more minutes, Alphys came out, “Sans will be alright, but I think this is partly from the consequences of the accident, his SOUL is different… Papyrus, maybe we should check yours too when you’re ready for it,” she stammered on her words quietly, though she did look relieved that he was going to be fine. She let them all into the room, where Sans was sitting up on the bed, looking more tired than usual.

“Sans! How are you feeling?” Papyrus asked, going over and sitting beside him. Sans nodded, leaning against him, closing his eyes, “It’s okay brother, we’re all right here,” Papyrus told him, holding him close as Sans held onto him tightly, tears beginning to form at the corner of his eye sockets in frustration and fear.

Grillby frowned, looking at Undyne, “We should let them have a moment... “ with that, they all left them alone, closing the door gently. Papyrus could hear them talking quietly as they walked away, but wouldn’t bother about it right now. For now, he just held Sans and rubbed his back, like whenever he had those nightmares.

Sans stopped after a while, pulling away and clearing his face of tears, soon signing, “sorry for the mess bro, i just… i don’t know what happened, and it’s just confusing… d… do you remember any of it? or am i just going crazy finally?” as he signed the last one, he let out a silent defeated chuckle, eyelights dark, looking down.

Papyrus frowned, making Sans look at him, “I don’t remember the details… I remember something attacked us… Then the day started over? And it attacked again, especially Doggo, but that’s it,” he admitted, knowing Sans would be way too clever to be fooled by a lie. Besides, they always were opened about everything to each other, Sans had told him that a whole lab had fallen into the Core with some important people inside.

His brother nodded, sighing in relief and frowned, “bro, we have to track down whatever attacked us, but i think we should go about it differently. whatever it was remembered us, we can’t take any chances,” he signed to Papyrus.

Once they both agreed, Papyrus went out to get Dr. Alphys once more, “Dr. Alphys? I’m ready for the check-up,” he told her, noting the way they all sort of jumped from his silent approach. He noted he would have to make some noise just to keep that from happening.

Alphys nodded, relaxing, “Yes, of course!” She soon went with them all back to the room, “Do you mind if they watch?” She asked, looking at the taller skeleton, who shook his head.

“I don’t mind, do what you have to Doctor,” He told her smiling, entering the room where Sans was laying on his side, relaxing finally. He gave them all a lazy wave, which Undyne scoffed and rolled her eyes at while Grillby chuckled.

Papyrus sat at the regular guest chair since Sans was currently occupying the bed which he didn’t mind. Alphys soon checked his other vitals, making sure he was strong and healthy. Sure enough, his HP was still at 680 and his attack and defense were at 20 as always. Now, to check his SOUL.

Gently and carefully, Alphys pulled it out enough for it to be seen. It was upside down and white like every other Monsters’, except for the fact that some parts seemed to be warped. There were black tendrils covering the warped and deformed part of his SOUL, giving off a somber tone. Undyne gasped while Grillby stood, shocked to see it. Papyrus and Sans, however.

They looked as if nothing was wrong.

Undyne growled, grinding her teeth, “Sans! You should at least sign something! Papyrus, why aren’t you freaking out?” she snapped at them both, which made them flinch. “Why the hell do you two look so calm about this?” she had her fists balled up, keeping from summoning one of her spears since she knew it wouldn’t make them talk.

“Undyne, you need to relax, we aren’t freaking out because this is how they’ve been since the accident,” Papyrus told her, setting his SOUL back into his chest, through his battle armor, “We never told anyone because Sans said they always forget about it in the end, even me, so there was no point,” he explained further, frowning.

Undyne couldn’t do anything except sputter at the explanation. She wanted to demand something out of his older brother, but seeing Sans laying there so casually, she knew he was daring her to. And it’s not like she could refute their reasoning either because she had no connection to the Labs in Hotland. And Alphys was always such a tightly closed book, that looking at her downcasted expression said she wouldn’t talk about it either.

Instead, she groaned, putting her head in her hands, “Grillby, you deal with this, I’m going to go talk with the Dogs, then go see King Asgore,” she said, walking out, armor clanking as she showed how frustrated she was with not being able to get any answers. Alphys looked down, and Papyrus patted her shoulder gently.

“That could have gone better, but… Not much we can do about it for right now,” she said with a dejected shrug of her shoulders. “For now, you two rest for the night, and maybe you shouldn’t be alone right now,” She sounded scared, a quick glance to the window making it seem like she knew more than what she was letting on.

“Right, thank you Dr. Alphys, we’ll go see-”

“You two can stay with me until this mess is resolved,” Grillby said, not taking no for an answer. “I know how Dogamy and Dogaressa can get, and even though they’re kind, I doubt their sort of kindness is what you need right now,” he added, mentally slapping himself for sounding so defensive of them. Stars he barely knew them.

Right?

Sans smirked a bit, getting off the bed and stretching, “sounds good to me Grillb, what about you Papyrus?” he signed, looking to his brother, who blinked and then nodded.

“Yes, thank you very much Grillby! And thank you Dr. Alphys, I knew calling you was the right thing to do!” Papyrus said, smiling and bowing a bit as he stood up. He picked up Sans, holding his brother over his shoulder and instantly Sans’ eyelids drooped, laying there like a ragdoll, which made Alphys almost snort at the scene before her.

Soon Alphys signed both the brothers out, letting them all make their way home as Undyne escorted her to the River Person after she put on her many layers of coats. On the way to Grillby’s bar, it was silent. Almost tense. Papyrus knew that Sans had suspicions of Grillby remembering something at least or at least a theory of his SOUL. Papyrus didn’t know whether to be hopeful that he did or did not remember. Something told him it would be awful on Sans either way, but there was no way to be sure until they heard it from the fire elemental himself.

Soon enough Grillby brought them upstairs to his living space, “Make yourselves at home, I’ll get the guest room ready and start making dinner for all of us. You two don’t mind sharing a bed, right?” he asked, looking at them both.

“No, we don’t mind, thank you again for letting us stay Grillby, it means a lot,” Papyrus answered, depositing Sans onto the comfortable couch as Sans chuckled, thanking him for carrying him. “And if you want I can start on dinner, I don’t mind,” he offered.

Grillby nodded, “As long as you don’t push yourself, you two had a lot going on it seems,” he said, soon going to fix the guest room.

To be honest, Grillby didn’t even know why he had a guest room. It baffled him for as long as he could remember. Maybe he was just feeling hospitable when he designed the building. Something told him that was wrong.

It had been used at one point. Fresh sheets and clean surfaces could tell him that much. He also has seen it in books that he found lying about the floor, sketchbooks that were all smudged or ripped out. Strange little items that just showed someone lived in the room before. But it had all been cleaned out since, and the most Grillby had to do was dust the tops of everything and clean the sheets every once in a while.

He soon came back out once it was all set, looking and seeing Sans watching him with a serious look on his face, “Grillby, i have a question,” he started, still with the serious look, but maybe some hope in his eyes?

“Sure, what do you want to know Sans?” he asked, sitting across from him, knowing somehow that this was going to be a long talk.

“what does the name Wing Ding Gaster mean to you?”


	7. Cruel Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Grillby remembers Sans! Happy joy! Or... Is it?

Grillby stared at Sans, wondering if he read the sign language right. His vision blurred, his head started pounding. He groaned, holding it, his flames flickering and flaring from his head wildly. He almost fell, just barely catching onto a chair to hold himself up. That name, it was familiar, yet so distant. Comforting, yet so tragic. Something wasn’t right, something was missing.

Flashes of his childhood came up, of playing in the snow, with two skeletons around his age. Going to school with the older one. Being picked up by their father. Cracks on his skull. Purple magic.

It was all wiped in an instant, Sans pulling him back to the present, looking at his face, inches away, “Grillby,” he croaked out, frantic fear in his eyes as he held him steady, watching the fire elemental’s expression. His voice is really what pulls Grillby back, blinking, staring into the other’s eyes as he’s sitting on the floor.

He pauses, holding Sans close, petting the back of his head before realizing it as he had just noticed the tears coming from the skeleton’s eyesockets, rattling coming from his bones he was shaking so hard, squeaking out as he tried to talk more. “Shh… It’s okay… You don’t have to talk… I’m here now…” he reassured Sans, still holding him close, helping him relax as Papyrus came out to see what happened.

Papyrus soon knelt down, pulling them both into a hug, his magic connecting with Sans’ to help him relax. The three lost friends sat there, crying for a bit now they were together again. Sans was the first to break away, wiping away the tears and smiling at Grillby. “sorry, did i scare you…?” he signed at them both. Grillby chuckled a bit, wiping his face, steam rising from where his tears were.

He shook his head, "I just, remember now... Don't be sorry," the fireman said, happy to be with family again. To have the house feel like a home again. Papyrus nodded, watching them both.

“It’s okay Brother, we understand,” Papyrus said, smiling a bit. “We can catch up in a bit, first we should eat,” he advised, standing up, “I’ll get it set up, just no more sudden tears, okay?” he told more than ask, chuckling a bit, soon turning to the kitchen again. Sans nodded to Papyrus, smiling a bit, thrilled to see Grillby remembered them both finally, even if Papyrus didn’t have as much memory of it.

Both Sans and Grillby sat there, elated. Sans couldn't count the times he just wanted to flee and run to Grillby, to try and force him to remember them. But he could never go through with it. He couldn't make anyone remember the horrid memory. Of Gaster screaming as the lab exploded, dusting not only himself but several others. Right now though, they sat, looking and taking the other in after being gone from each other's lives for years.

Then, a feeling of someone watching him crawled on his back, a deadly set of eyes burrowing into the back of his skull. He stiffened, seeing Grillby pause and looking at the window. He saw a shadow, eyes going out as a vine reached for something, while also looking like it was going to strike Grillby in the chest. Dread was the only word for it as the pit of his stomach dropped before everything went dark.

Sans gasped, jerking from bed, eyes wide before his eye lights became pinpricks, hearing Papyrus knock on the door once more.

No. Nonononono. NO!

Sans couldn’t help it, he let out a frustrated squeal of a yell, hurting his magic even more. He cried out, angry. At himself, at Alphys, at Gaster. Most of all though, at Flowey. If they hadn’t screwed up and made him! If he had just pushed to leave the flower vessels alone a little more. None of this would be happening. 

He was furious.

His magic lashed out, breaking whatever was in reach, Papyrus bursting through the door, “SANS, WHAT IS GOING ON?” he asked, yelling to get through to Sans. But Sans couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak. His bones rattled with the wrath of his anger. He didn't even notice the looming doom that was cast from Flowey's shadow being shone through the window, overshadowing everything else. Not until...

Everything stopped.

Sans tried to move, but couldn’t. Everything was frozen. Even the trash tornado. He tried breathing. Nothing. His Soul beat against his ribs, anger turning to terrifying fear as he tried and tried to move. A laugh was heard.

“Well well Sans, how does it feel?” Vines crept up, wrapping around his bones, making Sans wish so desperately to move, to attack. He could feel his magic trying to build up to summon a blaster. But it was making his Soul hurt, almost full to the brim to bursting from the blockage of magic. Pain erupted in his eyes, but Sans couldn’t react.

He was forced to sit there and take it, feeling like he was submerged into the deep sea. A sea which even he couldn’t stand. Vines gripped his wrists and legs, Flowey coming onto his shoulder with a smile. “To know that the fire head had remembered you. Remembered the fun times you all had. Just for it to be stripped away?” He couldn’t help but laugh, seeing the terrified glare the skeleton tried to give him. Sure, Sans was one of the people to bring him to life. But that didn’t mean Flowey owed him anything.

He giggled, sliding over to right in front of Sans’ face. “It’s back to square one again, no one is coming to help either, not even Papyrus,” he said, motioning to the other skeleton who was like a statue. Even though he didn’t have eye lights like Sans, Sans could just tell Papyrus was watching somehow. He wanted to cry, to tell him to look away.

A squeak managed to escape as vines slowly crushed into bone. Pain shooting throughout his whole body. “Let’s see how he’ll react now, seeing his older brother be crushed into dust,” he said with a laugh, his vines crushing his bones more. Sans couldn’t take it, with Papyrus right there to watch. He was crying, tears managing somehow to fall.

Sans was stuck, being crushed to dust. Right in front of Papyrus. A flash at the hospital. Papyrus wailing as he tried to get to Sans, but being forced away. Sans tried to reach out, but couldn’t move due to the impact he endured. Night after night Papyrus would fall asleep crying in the room next door. Sans couldn’t comfort him for a week.

It felt like it was on repeat, only a million times worse. “Papyrus…” he managed, before dusting slowly, his HP having given out from the stress. He felt every bit of dust start to come away from him. Seeing Papyrus start to cry.

And once more, he was in his bed, feeling empty. Floating in nothing. He didn’t bother to get up to unlock the door this time. Nor to shut off the alarm. He had failed Papyrus again. Made his own brother watch as he dusted. Not being able to do a damn thing about it. He needed to leave. Get away. Papyrus didn’t deserve a life like this.

Eyelights coming back as pinpricks, he knew what he had to do. Sans sat up, getting to his feet, and without even grabbing his jacket, he left through a port. Just as Papyrus made it inside. Watching him leave. He couldn’t tell Papyrus anything. Couldn’t even let him look at the broken failure of a brother he had to endure.

He ended up in front of the castle in New Home. Sans had been here many times, though it was usually for more happier occasions. The air was clean and fresh with flowers. Birds chirping softly off in the distance somewhere. Sound of people talking amongst themselves.

Right now though, it felt like an enormous weight was placed on him. The air stagnant with the feasible hatred rolling off his Soul.in waves, dampening the mood, his song slow and dark, just barely being able to be heard. He could hear the King humming a bit, happy and quiet. Somber in tone though, as always since they had lost their children, the Queen having left shortly after he declared war on humans.

If Sans was going to find anywhere he could work in peace it was here. Where he and Gaster had stood and walked so many times before. He walked right up to the door, going in, and seeing Asgore sitting at the table calmly, drinking his tea. The King looked up, blinking and frowning.

“Sans, you look horrible. Come, I’ll make you some tea.” Asgore said, standing and motioning to another seat. Sans shook his head, the King was always so generous and thoughtful when it came to his people.

Sans took a deep breath, slowly breathing out and looking at him, “King Asgore, i was hoping i could stay while trying to catch someone,” he signed, giving a bow out of respect. He had grown up respecting the Royal Family. It was natural and second nature.

Asgore paused, sighing, seeing Sans wouldn’t leave, “Very well, but what about your brother?” he asked, looking to the door to see if the jubilant skeleton would come following right behind. Papyrus wasn’t anywhere outside it seemed.

Sans shook his head sadly, flinching at his brother’s name, “it’s a personal mission, Papyrus needs to stay home,” Sans signed, standing straight, at his full height. Asgore knew this stance. It showed Sans would stop at nothing to achieve what he needed.

The King nodded, “Very well, as my Royal Advisor and Judge, I know you mean well Sans. But you should really sit and have something to eat, it’s early in the day yet,” he mentioned, “I will get some breakfast for you, and of course the castle is open to you.” he continued, going to the kitchen to make some breakfast, making Sans nod and sit at the table, pulling out an old journal.

He flipped it open, to the page of the DT machine and the effects it had on SOULS of monsters. He needed to match Flowey somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, but it just had to be done, and there won't be any other happy times for quite a bit. Hope you enjoyed anyway! Have a good one!
> 
> Edit: Oh, and I got a bit of help from a friend for this chapter.


	8. Papyrus' story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we get deeper into who Papyrus is as a person. And how he is with his brother. He also makes two "new friends"!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this came out late, I was celebrating a holiday with my family. Hope you all have a good one!

It was strange not having Sans around. He has always been a constant presence to Papyrus ever since the accident. Even when Papyrus was gone having to recover from the small scuffle it felt like he was missing a part of himself. They were brothers, and nothing could break their bond of being family. Papyrus knew that. He wasn’t clingy though, Sans had always chosen to stand by his side. Which made this time of him disappearing so out of the blue for them both.

Papyrus knew who Sans was, had known from the moment he was appointed his title from the King. Judge for Monsterkind. The one who passed whether or not a monster was guilty of a crime. The one to see how much LOVE a monster or even any human had. How much EXP they’ve earned. Sometimes even using the elusive Karmatic Retribution ability. Sans told him when it happened, and didn't lie to him. Papyrus was grateful that his brother saw him as someone he could come to for his troubles. He seemed to be the only one, now that he thought back on it.

Sans always had a mask on outside of their home, except for around Grillby which was another mystery. Everyone else was treated to seeing the comical lazy bones Sans had put up as a disguise. Not even the King had seen him for who he was worth, not in the way Papyrus was able to. But even so Sans would always tell him if he had somewhere to be. And an approximate time he’d be back. Something to tell Papyrus what was happening.

To port away without even a glace, Papyrus knew something was wrong. Sans hadn’t even taken his prized jacket with him, which Papyrus now held, confused as he sat at the bar. The Dog Squad had assured him that Sans would be fine, but he couldn’t take that at face value. He had seen how much Sans’ bones were shaking, and the anger and guilt that was washing over his Soul. Someone had royally pissed the smaller skeleton off.

If nothing else, Sans was patient.

It takes a lot of jabs to get at him, to make him truly angry. Even then, Sans would always find a way to fire back with something. Whether it was a prank or a warning shot depended on what the other was doing. Both brothers were boss monsters, but with their charades and shenanigans, no one knew any better. They didn’t need to know. 

When Sans is angry, he turns calm. His posture lax, and his eyes taking on a dim pitiful light. Before the accident, his voice was normal, yet could cause any other monster to tremble with just the intention of his words. It never scared Papyrus. There was only one-time Papyrus could recall ever being truly afraid of his brother, the one-time Papyrus saw true anger radiating from him.

That time had to do with a human? Yes, a human who managed to kill so many innocent monsters. Pain filled the skeleton’s skull as he clutched at it, leaning on the counter, tightly closing his eyes. He’s thankful the Dogs had gone on patrol already, not wanting to deal with their affections at the moment. He was trying to remember. There was something he was missing. Something important. 

There Papyrus was, back against the wall of the lab. His magic was flaring slightly in panic. Was he holding onto someone? He looked up and saw Sans. Blue magic flaring brightly around his older brother, yet his whole posture was calm. Almost limp. His smile empty, and his eyes both glowing bright. He raised his hand. Something started forming at his side. Bone, pointed and sharp.

Papyrus gasped as Grillby set his hand on the skeleton’s shoulder, looking around wildly. When he saw it was only the bartender there he relaxed, huffing slightly as he calmed down from his panic. “Sorry Grillby, just… I have these memories, and they show up randomly at times,” he confessed, looking at his arms, one hand still curled around the blue sweater, though for a moment he saw a lab coat. He blinked and shooked his head.

“I’m worried about Sans too, but if what Undyne said is true, then he must be safe,” Grillby reminded him gently. Of course, Undyne was the one to inform them both that Sans was staying with the King as Sans didn’t have his phone with him, which right now rested in the jacket’s pocket, Papyrus making sure it was charged and giving replies to texts saying Sans was away.

Since then, Papyrus had been staying with Grillby during the nights, his and his brothers’ house much too empty and foreboding to sleep in alone. It almost gave him the chills that the echo flowers in Waterfall had started giving him recently. Nothing was making sense to him anymore.

Grillby had been a calming presence though, which Papyrus was grateful for. He always seemed to know what to say to take his mind off it all. “Right, thank you Grillby, maybe I should go for a walk to clear my head a bit,” he said, putting away the jacket into his inventory. If Sans needed something, he could always port back to get it. No sense keeping himself locked up inside worried about him.

Grillby nodded, “Be careful, and if anything happens, you know where to find either me or the dogs,” he told the skeleton. Papyrus thanked him, soon heading out the door into the snow. He decided it would be best to keep to the paths he knew, so off he went down the way he usually patrols.

Along the way, he checked his puzzles and traps, making sure no one had set anything off. It calmed his mind, the meticulous patterns, familiar motions, and repetitious steps. Of course, he did play around a bit with the kids who stayed in the forest. Throwing some snowballs or helping them get something that was stuck.

“Hey Mister, where’s your brother? The silent one?” Monster Kid had asked, looking at him curiously. He knew they would be asking that sooner or later. All the other kids had turned to look at him now. It was strange for them too to see the brothers apart.

“Sans had some business to take care of in New Home, but don’t worry, he’ll be back and good as ever, nothing could keep him away for too long,” he told them confidently. Yes, if he was to keep things peaceful for the children, he had to mask his own worries. Which was easy, since Sans had taught him how to do so since they were younger. He smiled at the memories, getting into trouble together, ṱ̸̜͠h̵͎̾e̶͉̎i̷͔̖͗̓r̸͓̺͝ ̸̗̆f̵̧̲̊͗a̷̮̩t̴͍͚̋̃h̸͈͝e̵̠͑r̸̠̎͒ ̷̝̅͊ͅs̷̢̢̃c̵̘̺̈̓õ̷̦͚l̸̘͒d̶̖͝ǐ̶͇n̴̛͔̤̄ǵ̷͇ ̸̘̄̍t̷͚̕h̷̻͑e̵̟̎͜ṁ̷͚͖ ̷̹͕͊i̸̯͊̅f̴̢̃͆ ̷͈͑t̶͕͂̈́h̵̭̻̍̕ę̷̬̈́y̵͉̜̆͝ ̸̙̟͊͝w̵̦͎͐e̴̮̅̆r̸͉̙̒e̵͍̣̿ ̸̢͇̓c̴̜̆a̴̫͛̕ū̵̙g̷̪͘h̵̺̉͝ṱ̴̄͘,̷͎͑

Papyrus winced. His headache was back, feeling as if something was grinding at the back of his skull. “You all stay safe now, and remember to alert any of the guards if you find something dangerous. I’m going to continue my walk,” he told them with a wave, smiling as they waved back to him, heading down the path again.

As he walked, he greeted the Dogs that he passed, assuring them he was fine. Soon enough, he found himself at Sans’ station. It was quiet, though he could hear the soft noise, coming from Doctor Alphys’ camera as it swiveled around to keep watch of the area. He went and sat at the station, sighing and shaking his head, seeing the condiment bottles stashed away inside.

Sans and Papyrus both made enough to get by, but that was for Sans’ real position. Sans was the one to suggest that he takes up “smaller jobs” like selling food, so they could go by unnoticed. It only made sense, given what Sans did. Not to mention his clowning around and setting more hot dogs on someone’s head. Everyone saw Sans as a real Comic. Heh, Papyrus couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at his brother’s full name.

When they first got into the guard together, they were both ecstatic. Sure, Sans’ job at the labs was important as well, but he said he wanted to travel the different areas to see what sort of improvements they could figure out. Finding ways to get electricity and light to every part of the Underground. Plus, it was a good way to have a good reputation with the citizens, and that reputation had gone on to include the labs too, which meant increased funding.

Now that Papyrus was relaxed, his headache gone, he stood, stretching and started back for town, but something stopped him. He turned, looking down the other path. He’s never gone down it himself.

… No.

That wasn’t right. He and Sans had traveled down the path. Hadn’t they? Something happened when they did. Something important. Something dangerous. He took a breath in, turning and heading down the path. He wasn’t sure why he felt so compelled to go down it again, but he just had to know. He could feel the ever watchful camera follow his movements, getting past the smallish bridge that went over a crevice. Through the long hall of trees.

He soon arrived at a door. He knew it wouldn’t open from this side. Instead, he went up and placed a gloved hand on it, looking at the old inscriptions. He could feel the old magic stirring behind the doors. He knew someone was inside the Ruins. Pondering for a moment, he decided to knock. Nothing too soft or too loud. He waited.

“You are still there, are you not?” he heard a woman’s voice come from the door. She sounded tired. Irritated almost.

Papyrus frowned a bit, “Yes, I am, and I’m sorry if I’m bothering you. I just had a gut feeling someone was there,” he said, a smirk playing on his mouth from his own joke.

“It is, alright… May I ask why you are here?” he heard her lean against the door, sliding down slightly. The sound of her voice seemed heavy with sadness.

“I was just wandering the woods to help take my mind off some troubles my brother is having,” he said truthfully, turning and leaning on the door as well, “If you want, I can leave though,” he offered. Papyrus would never make anyone do something they did not want to.

He waited in the silence, the woman taking it to contemplate her options. “What is your brother like?” She decided finally. Papyrus smiled, hearing her curiousness start to rise.

“He’s a lazy bag of bones whenever he doesn’t have work and makes these terrible jokes all the time,” he started, “Last week we went to the store for food, and then he kept coming up to me, holding something like a bottle of water, asking ‘water are you doing?’ and other puns like that. He just can’t wait and plan them as I can,” he joked. Sans had always gone for the instant satisfaction of getting groans out of the people around them with his puns. Papyrus had to admit it was funny though, but would never say it to Sans. It would take the fun out of their game.

He paused when he heard her giggle a bit, “He sounds very… Punny,” she said with a small laugh as he groaned. Great, someone who was just like Sans.

They talked for a while, Papyrus explaining how it was in the different sections of the Underground, and the woman gave him some advice to keep safe.

Then she asked the big one, “How is the King doing?”

Papyrus could swear he heard the sorrow in her voice, regret lacing it. “He… Has been in better shape, but he’s getting through it all. I admire how strong he is for the citizens of the Underground. Losing my own brother… I’m not sure if I could have gone on as long as he has without Falling Down.” he admitted, looking down at his hands. Just the thought of it made his bones rattle.

“I see… Thank you for your time. I should get going,” the woman said, and he heard her stand straight.

“Of course. I hope you have a good one,” Papyrus told her, standing and stretching as well. He didn’t ask her name, and she hadn’t asked for his. It was probably for the best right now. He hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed, as he checks his phone and it was getting towards nine pm. He could feel someone watching him as he walked.

Papyrus stopped, looking ahead. “Come on out, I know you’re there,” he called out. Soon a little yellow flower popped up, smiling at him.

“Howdy Papyrus, how are you?”


	9. The Fire Warrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby has so much more to him than what it seems. And the return of Sans?

Tensions had been high since Sans disappeared. Other Snowdin residents had always looked forward to his jokes and pranks to have a nice laugh. He would always know the perfect pranks to lift everyone’s spirits whenever they were feeling down. But for the past couple of weeks, everyone was feeling the anxiety since the truth of him just disappearing had gotten out.

No one had any ill suspicions about him for it, but it still raised questions. Why run away from Papyrus? Not having his jacket was odd as well. Where did he go? These and many more plagued the minds of all those he entertained. Everyone was worried.

Grillby did what he could to assure them all Sans would be back sooner or later. He knew Sans wouldn't just leave them all behind. It wasn't like him. Sure he may be weak, but nothing would stop Sans from making people laugh. Though Grillby was having questions as well, feeling something odd happened just before Sans left.

Bringing a hand to his chest above where his Soul rested, he could just make out faded and fuzzy memories. He felt himself crying. Felt someone else crying right beside him. Images of his childhood with the skeletons. All of the memories were a jumbled up mess inside his head.

Grillby wanted to ask Papyrus about it, but he saw how worried the taller skeleton was about his brother. The two brothers were so close, so it was understandable how Papyrus was trying to cope with it himself. He could always ask them another time he figured. For the time being, he made a promise to do what he could to comfort Papyrus, reassuring him Sans would be able to take care of himself. And if he was with Asgore, then surely nothing would befall him.

The afternoon Sans left, Undyne had come to Snowdin, looking confused. She brought all of the sentries to his bar, asking the citizens to politely leave so they could talk in peace, telling them all Sans was in New Home, with the King. It seemed the only one, not as surprised was Papyrus, but he hadn't added any information. So they were assigned their new patrols to make up for Sans' stations and off Undyne went. That day Grillby said Papyrus could stay in the guest room he had upstairs, which he accepted gratefully.

A few days after that, Papyrus had been going out more, and always came back with a cautious air about him. He was a jumble of nerves sometimes, but would always weasel his way out of explaining why. Grillby decided he would ask him about it today, if it was serious he wanted to help.

That was his plan when dark intentions were suddenly felt outside the door, the fireman quickly looking up, tense as it opened, revealing some monsters who looked ragged and dirty, yet they had a purpose. The one upfront was rather large. A hawk monster, with scars littered across his face and beak. His golden eyes searched the bar, the other patrons freezing at the sight, when he found Grillby, smirking as he walked in so casually. His stride told of his age and power.

“You must be Grillby. I’m surprised a fire elemental boy like you would be here in Snowdin. Quite a cold little dump, isn’t it?” he asked as he walked, his voice having an edge to it as his group followed behind him. Everything about him screamed danger, that he wasn’t here just for a little bit of chitchat.

Grillby raised an eyebrow at the mention of his name. He knows he hadn’t done anything to receive this sort of attention, “I’m sorry, but I don’t keep the company of ruffians like yourself. Who are you exactly?” he quipped, his eyes taking in the group of misfits. He stood tall, not showing any weakness to them. This wasn’t the first time someone was coming for a fight after all.

The avian frowned at him, “We ain’t ruffians, and you better watch your language kid,” he said, stepping forward again. His group grumbled in agreement, the feeling of restlessness wafting through the bar. Normally Grillby would never rile up such a group, but out of the corner of his eye, he knew he had to keep them trained on him.

Leaning on one leg more than the other, giving the group a look to say he wasn’t afraid, “That really ruffles your flock’s feathers it seems. Can’t take a bit of joking old geezer?” Grillby asked, a smirk playing at his lips. Just as they were advancing towards him, they all heard the sound of the door opening and the others had rushed out.

A little sparrow was about to give chase when he let out a screech, flames licking at the fresh mark on his back. Their leader growled, looking back at Grillby who at this point summoned flames as well as a whip adorned with small fire spikes that glowed dangerously, leaving a trail of light after having cracked at the monster’s back.

“If you think I’m going to let you hurt any innocents, you are sorely mistaken,” Grillby’s voice was low, dripping with warning, his other hand having taken hold of a dagger from his inventory. The door was slammed shut by flames, a wall of fire keeping them away from escaping, also raising the temperature.

The group took out their weapons and magic, going after him with everything they had. Crack. Snap. His whip easily fended off the ones without magic attacks as he jumped to the side, getting over the counter. His flames and dagger working against those he saw would rather work long-range, not giving them room to aim.

Years of training took over, his movements becoming fluid as he dodged and thrust, burning many of the flock either on his attacks or the firewall. A few of their talons had cut his arms, but he didn’t let it stop him, as he moved to incapacitate them. He would never dust another monster, at most he was biding time for the guard to get here and take over. If push came to shove, he could always throw some of the liquor on them all and set them ablaze in his flames. But that was the last resort. No reason to waste a good drink on low lives like these.

Soon enough he heard the dogs come growling and barking outside, the firewall disappearing as he forced the door open, knocking one of the group out cold against the wall. The sentries made quick work of trapping them. Papyrus came over to his side as Grillby huffed, setting his weapons away and letting go of his magic attacks. "Grillby, are you okay?" He asked, green magic coming out to heal the smaller cuts on his arms.

Grillby nodded, "Thank you, I'll be fine. Any idea who they are though?" He saw the dirty look the hawk gave Papyrus as he passed while the sentries were cuffing him. It wasn't just an annoyed stare, he knew Papyrus. The whole group did.

Papyrus wrung his hands a bit, "Yes, I'm sorry that happened. He was the leader of a larger group. Sans and I led the charge to capture them. I'm not sure how they got out," he confessed with a low sigh. Grillby nodded.

Grillby blinked open his eyes, laying in his bed. Did… Did something happen? He sat up, rubbing his head. Why does he feel he’s been through this before? There was a knock at his door, “Grillby, are you okay?” Papyrus asked. Shaking his head to clear it of the grogginess he felt, he stood and opened the door, seeing Papyrus looking at him in worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine Papyrus, why are you worried?” Grillby asked with a frown, “You’re shaking, you should sit for a while.” he added, leading the skeleton to the couch. This was fine, he could always open the bar a little later, he had some questions for Papyrus too. Usually, Papyrus was gone just after breakfast. Even on his days off.

Papyrus sat without complaint, looking as if he was questioning something. Grillby sat down across from him, seeing as it would probably take a while if the skeleton’s actions of opening and closing his mouth was any indication. He would let him talk about whatever he needed to. Finally, Papyrus spoke up.

“Grillby, something terrible is happening,” the usually joyful skeleton admitted, “It’s almost like time is… Restarting? Some days just repeat over and over again. I don’t remember all that happens, but I have a general gist of it all. I have a theory of who, or rather, what is causing this. But I don’t want to let him know,” he was glancing out the window as he explained it all.

Once he was satisfied no one was there, “Look, you shouldn’t open the bar today. A group of bird monsters is going to try and attack you to get to me and Sans most likely. I have a gut feeling that they’ll try to drench you with water this time,” he said, looking Grillby straight in the eye, “Please, don’t tell anyone about this. I’m still trying to process it all myself,”

Grillby blinked and nodded, “Of course Papyrus, but you should be careful. I would hate for anything to happen to you, and I’m not just a bartender, I was trained to fight too you know.” he clarified, feeling the iron hilt in his inventory.

There was screaming outside, making both of them jump up and run down the stairs, making it outside to see a group of avian monsters attacking the town. Quickly the two of them brought out their attacks, Grillby also bringing out his whip which glowed dangerously as they went to defend the innocent residents. But their attacks seemed to be deflected by something. Talons and blades flashed, tearing at their clothes, getting awfully close to inflicting some real damage.

The Dogs came out soon after, going after the gang as well while Lesser Dog helped any stragglers get away. There were screeches and howls, barking and loud chirps. In an instant, the group was suddenly struck down with yellow magic, making the feathered foes drop to their knees in agony. Grillby and Papyrus looked up, seeing Sans, his eye flashing blue… And yellow. Justice Karmatic Retribution.

“didn’t expect such a rowdy welcoming committee,” he said with a smirk, making the both of them gasp. Just what happened while he was away?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I finally got a chapter up on time again xD Anyway, I hope you liked this one, thinking up a weapon for Grillby was actually really fun! And we get some juicy info from Papyrus.
> 
> Next week, we'll finally learn what Sans has been up to since he's disappeared. Hope you're excited about it like I am! Hope you enjoy, and have a good one!


	10. Science talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter basically talks about what all Sans had done while he was away from Snowdin. Also revealing some things to Grillby which he does not know how to feel about.

Despite being based near Hotlands, the air about the Core Labs were chilled. Many lab rooms unoccupied since the new labs have been built to keep anyone from accidentally misusing the Core controls. The only sounds being that of the buzzing of electricity and screens. Computers were kept running to stabilize the energy output the Core was emitting. Magic was also strongly centered about the area, though no one outside of the team knew why.

Dust had gathered about the unused hallways. Only the most knowledgeable of scientists were allowed in these labs since the accident. Had it only been a year at this point? Sans shook his head lightly, pulling the lab coat close as he walked. It seemed like ages ago, yet also like it was yesterday. The alarms blaring, people yelling to get out. Sans reaching out to try and save Gaster, before the explosion.

Absent hands raised, feeling the side of his skull. He used magic to cover them, but during the accident, several pieces of shrapnel had cut into it. Leaving scars and even dotting a few holes into the bone. That pain didn’t nearly cover how he felt knowing that not only was Gaster gone, but the rest of his team as well. They all had family around, but no one remembered them. Sans only remembered bits and pieces, and he had somehow managed to hold onto the last team picture they had ever taken.

Alphys remembered some of it as well, but not as clearly. Only the yelling of her own father as he was dragged into whatever the explosion created. That whole part of the building had broken off from the main, falling off into the magma below, being swallowed by the pure magic the Core had converted it to.

Sans and Alphys tried and failed, for weeks after the accident to see where, or even when, the building and monsters within could have gone. It was unsuccessful though, almost leading to Alphys Falling Down due to feeling hopeless of ever returning them to their families. At which point Sans canceled the project, abandoning their machine in his basement, hidden under a tarp so he wouldn’t have to see it. It helped a little since their basement was also where he was trying to find ways to talk once more.

Being back at this lab though, Sans was standing tall, his strides confident as he found the room he was looking for. It was far larger than the one underneath Alphys’ home and cover lab. There stood their last project together.

It was mounted to the wall, high and mighty. The lights cast shadows about the bends of where metal and tubes were going in and out of the wall and into the machine. Several glass containers were set to the side, small vials set about them, filled with different traits of the Human Souls they had thus far. The machine as a whole seemed like a very attack-oriented Gaster Blaster, which gave a chill through Sans’ bones, his own having been adapted to defense and speed mostly.

The power at the moment was shut down. Which gave some relief. “S-so… What exactly do you p-plan to do?” Alphys’ voice came, almost echoing off the walls of the giant empty room, despite how quiet she was. It was unnerving, to say the least. She was always scared to come back to these labs, even though she was the Royal Scientist at this point. Alphys took over the title since Sans had Papyrus to look after, though he made sure to help whenever he could to repay her.

He sighed, knowing she would find out at some point his insane idea, “we both know Flowey won’t stop until he’s satisfied, and since he barely has a Soul or feelings anymore, that won’t be for a while,” his hands moved fluidly. He turned, heading for the lab table, bringing out the sketchbook that held many blueprints, both for the Underground and for himself. He turned once again to the page that was detailing the very machine nearby, components being explained in detail of their functions.

He turned the page once more, which held various notes of SOULS, both monster and human, “using Determination, especially with the state my SOUL is in, would instantly turn me into either dust, or like the others, so there’s no point in trying that,” his hands faltered a bit, seeing how she winced at the mention of them. He gave her a pat on her shoulder, using magic to calm her own. “at the moment, we have Justice, Integrity, Bravery, and Perseverance,” he continued after a moment, not letting their talk fall to the Amalgamations as it often had in the past.

Sans let her take the book to look at his notes carefully, continuing on within her view, “Perseverance is good for a long term, but Determination seems to shatter its power, or corrupt it, either way, it’s no match. Bravery and Integrity are in the same boat. both are incredibly powerful on their own, but still falling short of DT.” he explained, bringing up the results they had simulated all that time ago up on the computer that was sitting nearby.

Human Soul Traits. They all had their own unique properties, skills, and weaknesses. It was also what determined a Mage’s magic all those years ago if what Gerson had told them were true. When the humans are young, they are born with one strong trait, leaving their SOULS to be one solid color. As they matured, and experienced life, they would slowly take on other traits as well, each human’s SOUL taking on their own unique color, never quite the same as another’s.

Unfortunately, all of the SOULS gathered thus far were mostly pure in color and their trait. The fact behind this meaning had taken down the HoPe of many of the scientists, but they knew it had to be done. And they could not begin to imagine how much it affected Asgore, who had to oversee the bodies of each and every one.

Once Alphys was done reading it all over, she sighed, “Honestly Sans… This could most likely kill you, but you’re right, we have to stop Flowey somehow,” she told him with a frown. Alphys had never been a strong fighter herself, having shied away even further from battle, following in her Father’s footsteps on the path of science. Sans had his own issues, but he was the only one who could remember longer pieces of the Resets, barring his brother who he would never let be a test subject of any kind.

That’s why he left Papyrus back in Snowdin. He knew the Dogs would take care of him, as well as Grillby if anything happened to Sans to make it so he couldn’t come back. Besides, he trusted Papyrus to be on his own as well. Papyrus was the one who enstated that they stay together until Sans at least had his voice back as sign language was a dying art with so many monsters being able to communicate with magic.

In silent agreement, the two of them started on preparing to research just how much Justice it would take to have some foothold against Flowey. Organizing, filing old paperwork, cleaning, maintenance on older machines, updates to the computers as well as the files within.

During a bit of downtime, Alphys turned to him. Even though he usually had his lazy laid back persona set about him, he always had a serious atmosphere when in a science kick. Alphys respected it and looked up to him for it. She herself would get lost in her work, but Sans didn’t. He was always present. Always alert of his actions and planning.

At the moment though, he just looked tired yet angry, “Sans… What happened in the last reset?” she had been wanting to ask that since she saw him, standing besides Asgore after she was called to the castle. Sans paused, looking away, rubbing the back of his skull, “Sans, I know I’m a pushover most of the time, but I can tell something major happened… What did Flowey do?” she asked, firmer than ever. It had to be something bad enough to the point he was willing to put his SOUL on the line.

“he was showing signs of going on a killing spree, either that or just to break everyone’s minds. he was also targeting Papyrus and Grillby,” he explained, looking at her straight on. Papyrus she understood. If there was one thing Sans was known for, it was for being part of the Skeleton Brothers. They each did their own thing most of the time when not on patrol, and teased each other, but in the end, Sans would always be his older brother and protect him.

Grillby, on the other hand, was surprising. Sans didn’t get too close to many people. He was reserved. He acted friendly, but that was mostly part of his job most of the time. Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t get past a frank friendship for him. Alphys knew that much since she and the brothers grew up together.

Seeing how he started avoiding her gaze, she guessed something else was up, a smirk forming on her lips, “Grillby, huh? Sounds like someone has a crush~” she teased, snorting a bit at the glare he was giving her and the blush on his face that was basically lighting up the lab. She, of course, knew the two of them were close when they were in school together. She just hadn’t guessed Sans would be into him like that until now.

“i could say the same about you and Undyne!” he shot back, frowning at her, still feeling flustered that he was so easily called out on his feelings. She gasped and sputtered, the two of them arguing and trying to get the other more flustered as their work went on, hoping to ease the weirdness of working together again. It helped a lot, as it soon devolved into Sans making lizard and fish puns at her, and Alphys would shoot back some jokes at him.

It had taken most of the day to get things ready, being only two of them didn’t help much either, the only time they really stopped to have a break was when Asgore came to check on them and bring them some refreshments. The air around Sans and Asgore was thick with an unspoken argument that Alphys decided to stay away from. Instead, she sipped at her tea, staying quiet as she went over some calculations in her head.

King Asgore. Most know him only as a loving and caring goofball, as he regularly takes walks out and about, living among his citizens and subjects. But he was King for a reason. He oversaw every large operation, not including criminal activity. And when Sans proposed the idea to him, he tried to oppose it, and harshly.

Asgore does not anger easily. But the thought of someone possibly choosing to willingly give up their healthy and long life on a gamble was something he did not take lightly. His disproving gaze alone almost shamed Sans into giving it up. This though was not something Sans could back down from. And was forced to tell him about Flowey. Not to mention the power of what he had come to know as the Resets.

“it’s either a whole Underground tormented time and time again by little plant or one pile of dusty old bones!”

Those were the first real words he had managed to string together, his voice scratchy and unused, tears at the corner of his eyes not only from the pain of forcing his voice out but the thought of losing everyone to a power-hungry lost Soul. Everyone already lost their freedom to the Humans long ago. They didn’t need to lose their lives when things were getting mostly back on track for them all.

It wedged a small space between the two of them, and Sans regretted those harsh words. They had managed to get Asgore to relent though, so Sans would figure out a way to apologize for it later.

In the night, when Sans had waved farewell to Alphys as she went back to her home, he was about to head to an unused bedroom of the lab when Asgore called him. He turned, seeing the King looking around wearily, not being able to look him in the eyes. Sans’ own looked down.

Asgore sighed, taking a few steps forward, “You do not have to sleep in these dusty old rooms. Why not come back to the castle, and we can talk this out?” he offered. Ever since Toriel had left, he had been hard at work to improve his communication skills so he wouldn’t make such brash choices again. Sans admired his dedication, even if it was clear the Queen would probably not return to his side again. Sans shrugged his shoulders easily, showing he wouldn’t mind talking and smoothing things over, hands diving into his lab coat pockets as he followed after.

Asgore went about, soon bringing out a nice vegetable stew, sitting across from Sans. Just hours earlier, they had turned away from each other at this very table both angry and guilty with one another. The tension was still there, but they were both much calmer. Eating in silence as they thought about what to talk about didn’t help though, and that’s when Sans shook his head, setting his utensils down.

His hands moved slowly as he signed, “Your Majesty, I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I know your losses and hate to pile more on you, but this is necessary. Flowey has to be stopped, and I’m the only one who stands a chance,” he looked at Asgore, frowning as he saw the sorrow hidden deep within his King’s eyes, “I promise you that Alphys and I will be taking every safety measure there is. With the two of us, there’s no chance at an accident. Especially not one as big as that one was,” he continued, his magic gently flowing out to help ease Asgore’s worry.

Asgore took a breath in. He knew Sans didn’t make promises easily. Only when he knew he could keep it. However, Sans was still so young in his eyes. Sans would have a long life ahead of him if he made sure to take precaution. So much to live for. Not to mention his brother. Papyrus was brave and selfless, so kind and thoughtful as well. To lose your only family though, Asgore wasn’t sure how he would handle it. He didn’t wish to think of it either.

Finally, he breathed out, “I know that if I did not allow you use of this lab, you would find a way to use your own. That would be risking much more. So I will hold you to your promise to stay safe. I will also be coming to make sure you both take breaks. I don’t want you overworking yourselves,” he chided. Something about this whole scenario was nostalgic. Often he would scold the team to take breaks regularly.

With that Sans smiled, thanking him before finishing his food. He was about to take the dishes before Asgore stopped him, “You’re going to need all the rest you can get,” he told him, soon going to clean everything while Sans nodded and started for one of the spare rooms.

For the next week, Sans and Alphys worked hard on figuring out calculations, having a bit of banter, Alphys updating Sans on how Papyrus and them were doing from reports from Undyne. More than once they saw vines out of the corner of their eyes and they were always alert. A sense of dread was always overlaying their work. They pushed on though.

Once it came to testing, Sans sighed, sitting on the table, lab coat and shirt off as he pulled out his SOUL. It was fragile, the same black tendrils sprouting about it to remind him of Gaster and everyone else. Alphys brought over the small needle filled with the Justice trait. Sans forced himself to relax, watching as Alphys very carefully stuck the needle into his SOUL, which made a slight pain go through his whole being. But due to it not having the intent to kill, it was bearable.

After the first small dose was injected Sans gripped the table hard. He could feel the trait merge into his SOUL, into his magic even, giving it a boost. Alphys quickly took it out again, using magic to seal where the needle was put in and Checked him. It was just a shock going through his system. The two of them looked to each other, smiling. So far so good.

The next few weeks were filled with tests, small doses being injected, and in between were days of rest. Sans could get through this. He felt it in his bones. With each shot of Justice, his magic grew ever stronger. Until one day he watched as Alphys, sleep-deprived, had accidentally poured salt into her coffee instead of sugar, gagging at the mixture. Sans started howling with laughter, almost scaring himself at how powerful his voice seemed to be. He wasn’t even focused on gaining his voice back, but it was just a perk to this whole thing.

Other than that, Sans kept a very careful watch on himself. Making sure there was no chance to somehow turn to goop as the Amaglamates had with DT. Sometimes, staying up in the dark, he could swear that he saw Gaster’s figure watching over him. Other times, it was Flowey, laughing at their attempt to best him. Both fueled him on more to make sure this worked.

The last day they had injected his SOUL with it, he felt new magic open to him. Justice Karmatic Retribution. Before, his retribution could only punish based on a person’s LOVE and EXP. Now, Justice Karmatic Retribution was just what it said on the tin, it took into account every action taken, increasing it to however much it deemed fit. He could also remember the past Resets easily, so he had no doubt that he could take on Flowey now.

He woke up in bed again, pausing as he sat up quickly. Guess it was time to test that theory out. Quickly, Sans called Alphys on the phone Asgore let him borrow, asking where Flowey was at the moment, and she told him he was with a group of bird monsters, seeming to use magic to control them. He quickly hung up, running out the door only to almost collide with Asgore. 

“Sans, what’s the matter?”

“look, thank you for everything Your Majesty, but i have to go now. stay safe, and keep the SOULS locked,” as he explained, he gave the phone back to his King, soon porting to where Alphys described just as the avians were taken away by vines. He ran as fast as he could, going towards Snowdin.

“and well, you two know the rest,” Sans finished explaining what he was doing, shrinking away from Papyrus’ and Grillby’s glares as they sat in the skeleton’s house, of course omitting what he and Alphys bantered about. He could feel that they were disappointed in him that he didn’t even think to call them himself. Not even Papyrus. But with everything just happening so fast, he wasn’t thinking of it.

Papyrus gave a sigh as Grillby folded his arms, relaxing, “Well, the good news is that you’re back home now, and everyone is safe. At the moment,” with a worried look, Papyrus continued, “By the way, during the time you were gone, Flowey tried to manipulate me. We talked a lot, but since he didn’t attack, I listened to what he had to say. Apparently, the first human, Chara, hadn’t died due to a sudden illness, it was a plan they shared to get enough SOULS to break the barrier. But he couldn’t finish it.” Papyrus told them both, making Grillby blink.

How had this little flower that he barely remembers know about that? Unless…

He turned to Sans, “Sans… This Flowey… He’s actually Asriel, isn’t he?”

Sans sighed, nodding to confirm it. Alphys and Sans both knew it to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, this one was a doozy, but it was so exciting! And now, we're getting to the end, probably only a couple more chapters, which I will binge write this weekend, or that's the plan anyway. Hope you all enjoy, have a good one!


	11. Update

So, if you don't know, I am going on vacation next Thursday until the 9th. I will write all I can this weekend, but I will be busy. I decided that I will write up the remaining chapters and post them all at once when I do.

I hope you all have a good one! Take care!

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, Sans can't exactly talk in this, uh AU? Not for now, at least, I will get into that later. For now, I hope you enjoyed, now I have to get some sleep, I have to get up early for work.


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